Day 3: In Langfang, China

Here's a map of China.  The team is just south of Beijing, nestled between the municipality of Beijing and Tianjin Province.

Here's a close up map of that region.  The city of LangFang
(pronounced "long fong") is marked with a red star.

A note from the team:

"Going from an orphanage with 20 kids to one with 100 is a great

difference. Shepherd's Field (http://www.chinaorphans.org/) is a place that has

a lot of connections to Spokane as literal as a few hundred people have gone to

serve there, as well as Princess Hannah spending last summer there. Over the

15 or so years they have existed, nearly 1000 kids have received needed

surgeries and/or got adopted. Our team arrived and immediately was thrust into

the mix by having about 30 minutes to set up an entire series of learning

stations. For the few teachers on our team, it was definitely a learning curve as

the chaos that ensued was good, but also chaotic. For lunch we took the office

staff and a few others from SFCV (Shepherd's Field Childrens Village) across the

street for a traditional lunch with what would probably consist of the hottest

peppers that most of us have ever had. Love seeing our team tear-up

occasionally, it's cleansing. After lunch we set up the pools for a water fight and

enjoyed some time to just play with the kids, and with each other. I'm

beginning to see why Arne held the military role he did as there is a strategic

element in him about how to ensure every single person gets attacked and

thrown in a kiddie pool. Hal on the other hand--50-ish, going on 7--was just

always found in the midst of it all, and usually on the bottom. For dinner we

took the entire support team at SFCV out for hot pot dinner at a local

restaurant, and then called it a night.

We are now wrapping up our time in LangFang, south of Beijing. After a stop at

a local hospital, we will be heading to Beijing for a couple of days of enjoying

the fastest evolving city on earth, with one of the longest traditions. It should be

a fun-filled few days, but also a weekend of connecting with people and

understanding the culture in preparation for our time in Jilin City next week.

All is well"